Housing Discrimination

Is It Discrimination

A real estate agent shows you apartments in one neighborhood and not another because of your race.

A landlord refuses to rent to you because you have a Section 8 voucher

A landlord makes an inappropriate comment about your gender, ethnicity, religion or disability.

You have young children and a landlord tells you she cannot rent to you because the apartment has lead paint.

Protect Yourself When Looking for an Apartment

Do not ask if a landlord takes Section 8 or allows children. Assume the landlord will follow the law.

Ask to see all available apartments – even if the landlord says an apartment is too small or has lead paint.

If the landlord will not rent to you, ask for a specific reason.

Who Is Protected

Laws that protect against discrimination are called fair housing laws.

Fair housing laws protect you if a landlord, her employee, or a real estate broker discriminates against you because of your:

Race

Color

National Origin or Ancestry

Gender

Sexual Orientation

Gender Identity

Religion

Age – as long as you are 18 or over

Or because you:

Are pregnant or have a child

Get welfare, SSI or other benefits

Have a Section 8 or housing subsidy

Are married or not married

Are or were in the military

Have a physical or mental disability

Is the Property Covered

No landlord of any size building can discriminate based on race, receipt of public assistance, or receipt of a housing subsidy. But for other types of discrimination:

State fair housing laws do not cover buildings with only 2 apartments if the landlord lives there.

Federal fair housing laws do not cover buildings with 4 apartments or less if the landlord lives there.

Act Quickly!

Write down the facts.

Your notes may be your best evidence. Write everything down as soon as you can!

Your Notes

Date and time of the discrimination.

Name and title of the person who discriminated against you.

What you said.

Everything the other person said.

“Test” the landlord.

Ask a testing agency to help you find out if a landlord is discriminating. Contact one of these agencies the same day you have the problem.

If you cannot get help from an agency, do your own test. For example, if you feel the landlord discriminated against you because you have a child, ask someone without a child to look at the same apartment. Then make detailed notes about what happens.